Traffic Light
by RockDiva
Summary: Returning to London, Alice sees a new invention called a traffic light. How can such a simple thing bring her back to her senses and remind her of the promise she has yet to keep? A/H


**Author Note: **The following is my first foray into the realm of _Alice In Wonderland_. I must admit it is timidly published as there are so many gifted writers a part of this amazing fandom and I haven't written in ages it seems. Still, the movie is such an inspiration, as are traffic lights! I was sitting in my car just yesterday at a stoplight and have not been able to get this plot bunny from my head since. So here it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Alice In Wonderland_. If I did own this particular version, I can assure you certain kisses and a very particular line from Tarrant would never have been deleted from the script. I also do not claim to know if this plot, any of the details, etc. have already been used somewhere in this vast section as I have only read a handful of the many wonderful things offered here. So, my apologies if you feel I have stolen something from you. I promise it was unintentional!

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**Traffic Light**

"You _would_ choose such cold weather to return to London, Alice," the 22 year old woman scolded herself with a shiver as she headed on deck of the _Wonder_. It was December 17, 1868 and, although winter had already come to stay, Alice had determined to make it home by Christmas.

She had spent three Christmases away from her family while bringing her father's company to a prominent position in the Fareast. But that adventure was behind her now. And as the ship drew closer to port and she began to see the outlines of faces standing on the docks, Alice knew she was okay with that. In fact, her determination to get home by Christmas was driven by a deep ache she hadn't felt for some time.

Not since before she'd left the stuffiness of London to pursue adventure in the name of business had Alice felt so dreadfully out of place. Yet, for the past few months, Alice _had _been feeling out of place. Ironically, she wanted to be back in London. Of course, not for the social gatherings or the suitors or the stockings. Actually, Alice wasn't quite sure what exactly it was that was driving her back.

_Absence makes the heart grow fonder_. Perhaps that was it. Alice didn't like the thought, but perhaps she had finally grown homesick in spite of herself.

The sun was going down just as the boat finally reached dock, making the air all the more cool. As Alice looked down on the face of her mother and Lord Ascot, who had been with her in China for a short while, she felt a bit guilty for their being there to welcome her in the chill of December.

"My dear, Alice," Helen Kingsleigh immediately hugged her daughter affectionately, yet properly, as she finally joined them on land.

"Hello, mother," Alice smiled warmly. The emptiness that had been growing in her heart eased a little at the sight and touch of her mother._ Face it, Alice. You've missed your socially inclined family. _Alice kept her thoughts to herself as she faced Lord Ascot. "The business is going well as you know."

"No business tonight, Alice," Lord Ascot chuckled a little and waved his hand before placing it on the young woman's shoulder. "Tonight I'm here as friend and escort. I only wish it could be your father who had this honor."

"He would have been proud wouldn't he have?" Alice smiled a little more brightly at the thought. It wasn't vanity for her accomplishments which prompted the comment, but the sheer knowledge that even if she had failed in creating a large foothold for the business, Charles Kingsleigh would have been proud of her.

"Yes, very much so," Lord Ascot nodded before grabbing her two bags from her. "Now, let's get out of this cold air and into the carriage." The Kingsleigh women agreed to the plan and the trio was quick to be off on their journey into London.

"Margaret is so pleased to have you returning home," Helen broke the silence of the carriage ride, much to Alice's relief as her thoughts had been vexing once more. Each sound of hooves upon the road brought them closer to London and Alice could feel her inexplicable longing grow.

_It must be I'm still anxious to see Margaret_, Alice reasoned with herself. "And I am excited to see Margaret again." She let a smile grace her face as she suddenly remembered Margaret wasn't the only family member she was anxious to see. "And my nephew! He must be at least a month old by now."

There was a sparkle in Alice's eyes as she thought of the new child. Helen had often reprimanded her for that sparkle because it had usually sprung from her wild imagination or other questionable behavior. However, Helen was overwhelmed the sight of it again after so long. She had to choke back tears to respond. "Nearly two months now," Helen thought fondly of her first grandchild. "I'm afraid I had no time to write you about him after his birth. I am sorry." She realized there wasn't any real reason to apologize, as a letter wouldn't have had time to reach Alice before her return anyhow. Still, it was proper to apologize.

"I can_not_ wait to see him." Alice tried to conjure up an image of her nephew based on Margaret's and Lowell's looks. Certainly she didn't care too much for the man, but Alice knew Lowell's looks alone would make for a handsome son for her already beautiful and dear sister. Of course, the baby could have unnaturally orange hair and a gap in his teeth for all Alice cared. He would still be the most handsome child in all of London.

The smile on Alice's face grew tenfold, making Helen give a small laugh. "That is clear, but you will see him soon enough."

Her mother's response brought Alice back from the sudden euphoric trance she had been in. She could feel the very large smile on her face and felt slightly embarrassed. Then again, why should she be embarrassed? _I was only thinking of my nephew_, she said to herself. _Wasn't I? _Suddenly, she wasn't quite sure _what_ direction her thoughts had taken. Clearing her mind again, she asked, "What did Margaret and Lowell choose to name him? You said in your last letter they hadn't decided yet."

"Oh, yes," Helen recalled having written that. "They named him Terrence after Lowell's grandfather."

Alice felt the blood leave her cheeks and suddenly the already chilled air was much colder than it had been before. She noticed her mother's odd expression in lieu of her reaction. "Did you say his name is Tarrant?" Alice furrowed her eyebrows as the question confused even herself. Why did that name fascinate her all of a sudden? Where had she heard it before?

"No, my dear, _Terrence_," Helen tried to pronounce the name a little more clearly so her daughter could hear. Meanwhile, Lord Ascot puzzled quietly over if he had ever heard Alice mention the other name during their business trip. "Although, Tarrant does have a nice sound to it," Helen admitted as she mulled the name over again a few times audibly – much to Alice's chagrin; for, each time she heard the name whispered by her mother, it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight.

"Terrence is a lovely name," Alice spoke quickly, wishing to have the sudden sensations down her spine, along her arms and especially in her stomach come to an end.

"Yes, I quite agree," Helen smiled, forgetting the oddness of the moment before entirely. "Margaret is so happy and I'm relieved to say quite strong and healthy. As is Terrence," Helen added.

It was no secret that women were often judged by their ability to not only survive childbirth, but to regain their strength quickly. Too many died in childbirth, were quite sick after childbirth, or gave birth to sickly children. Alice often thought, but most definitely kept it to herself, that it must be the horrid corsets which women were expected to wear at nearly all times. It only seemed logical to her that it must hurt the very place the baby was expected to live for nine months. After all, if the woman could barely breathe with the thing on, how could the baby?

Had Helen heard her daughter's thoughts, Alice knew she would be quite horrified. Not back with her mother for more than an hour or so and already disgracing her. Alice suddenly felt the ache return. Perhaps the constrictions of English propriety remained no matter how happy she was to be in the company of those she loved again.

All at once, there was a sort of green light to be seen through the carriage window. Curiosity always a point of weakness for her, Alice craned her neck in an attempt to see what was causing the glow and why it seemed to be getting brighter.

"We must be nearing the House of Commons," Lord Ascot chuckled knowingly as Helen tried her best to re-accustom herself to her daughter's unrestrained temperament. "They have just seven days ago installed something called a traffic light.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Alice looked at him for a moment, her nose scrunched as she spoke words that had many times made her mother cringe.

"Alice," Helen started to say something, but then chose to restrain herself from reprimanding her daughter so soon after her return. She knew that Alice would quench her curiosity whether she approved or not.

Without warning the glow changed from green to red, causing Alice's heart to nearly stop as the carriage did come to a stop. "Green to red," she could barely whisper as she stared out the window, her eyes so blank it frightened her mother greatly.

"Yes, you see, the green gas lamp is to signal traffic to move forward and the red is to signal traffic to come to a momentary halt," Lord Ascot tried to explain the new device which was based on those already used on railways.

"Although, I still do not quite understand the need for such an invention," Helen uncharacteristically spoke her thoughts. Perhaps she was searching for anything that would keep herself from focusing on the ghostly expression on her daughter's face.

As for Alice, she couldn't understand what it was about the traffic light which unnerved her. _What is the hatter with you, Alice? Matter, I mean, matt… _The unfinished thought sent a million new ones racing around in Alice's head.

"Hatter," the name finally found its way from the recesses of Alice's mind and escaped her lips as a breath of air. As if listening to her command, the traffic light revolved and once again Alice saw green. "Tarrant!" Alice's head snapped straightforward as the memories came flooding back one by one, ending with the orange-haired, gap toothed, wonderful man whose eyes were flickering from red to green.

"My dear, I am starting to wonder if you are keeping something from me," Helen looked at Alice with concern and then to Lord Ascot who merely shrugged away any knowledge of the subject. "Alice, do you know a man by the name of Tarrant?"

Alice didn't answer immediately, her mouth too occupied with a smile larger than her mother or Lord Ascot had ever seen. "Yes, mother, I do know a man named Tarrant," she finally answered. Without hesitation, she began to recall him quite vividly. "A Mr. Tarrant Hightopp to be exact. He is the most delightful man you should ever meet. With eyes that turn from green to red and back again!"

"Oh, now, come, Alice. You must be exaggerating him to us. Perhaps you mean his eyes are hazel, but I highly doubt the man's eyes actually change from green to red." Helen looked across at her daughter most curiously, somewhat proving she and her daughter weren't entirely opposite in character. She wasn't sure if she should be happy for or stunned by her daughter's sudden announcement of some unknown man in her life. She was especially unsure given the amount of affection in Alice's voice when speaking of said mystery man.

"Oh, but they do, mother! Naturally, they are the most startling shade of green in any known world. Yet, at times they blaze like a delightfully mad fire until a single mention of his name brings them back to green." The conviction in Alice's voice startled Helen while Lord Ascot smiled warmly, almost apt to believe the girl sitting beside him.

Helen tried very hard to control her urge to chastise Alice for going on and on in the fashion of a lunatic. It was especially improper for her to gush so wildly about a man in the presence of another man. And it was even more unbecoming given she had once been practically betrothed to the man's own son! Of course, Alice didn't care. She had remembered Hatter and all her thoughts were now turned toward him, as if they were trying to make up for lost time and a broken promise.

Thus, Helen seemed to sense that Alice was still reeling inside her own private dreamland – not knowing how literal that dreamland was. And, while it was less than proper for her to be acting in such a manner, Helen surprisingly understood how her daughter must feel. She remembered how she had struggled so hard to hold back her own unbridled joy when she had met Alice's father.

"So, will this Mr. Hightopp be expecting you now that you are back in London?" Helen asked the question she feared there would only be one answer to. After all, Alice had just returned to her. She hated the idea of losing her again so quickly. Not to mention, Helen still had no clue this man was or how Alice had managed to meet him without her knowledge. Then again, this _was _Alice so anything was possible – even if Helen had never been one to believe that anything was possible.

Alice looked at her mother with a small drop of her jaw. _I'll be back before you know it. _The ache Alice had felt suddenly made sense thanks to her mother's question. She _had_ forgotten Hatter despite her promise and she _had_ forgotten her commitment to return. Her heart must have been angry with her for such actions and was trying to get her attention. Just the thought of returning made the ache ease a little. It also must have been the real reason she had felt so driven to return to London, she reasoned. Time must have been telling her she was dreadfully close to being late again. "Yes, mother. He _is_ expecting me. He would kill Time itself to wait for my return."

Alice's words were like the gibberish of a young girl's secret writings to Helen's ears, but she knew this was the happiest she had ever seen her daughter since Charles was alive. Not even when she had taken up her father's business had she seemed so happy. "Then, my dear, you must go to him," Helen finally relented.

The ache then subsided altogether and Alice looked at her mother with an expression of awe which rivaled the moments she had laid eyes on Underland. Alice realized she would forever have peace with her mother and soon have Hatter again. Now there was no more room for ache.

So, with a contented sigh she turned her body to look through the small back window of the carriage. The traffic light – that crazy, wonderful traffic light – could barely be seen as a faint glow of red in the distance. As she continued to stare at it, the glow flickered back to green and Alice smiled.

She suddenly wondered if _his_ eyes were green despite her absence. She shouldn't dare to assume they wouldn't be green just because she wasn't there. On the other hand, would they flash red with anger at the sight of her after so long or should she ever confess she _had _forgotten? Although those eyes would have every right to turn red, her heart told her they wouldn't. Then, as if able to see his eyes as they really were at that very moment, Alice debated if perhaps they were in that colorful state between wonderment and madness, when his mind was uncertain which part he should cling to. Yes, that had to be it; she was certain.

"I believe that delightful traffic light could stand to have a third color," Alice's comment seemed quite strange to her mother and Lord Ascot. Why should Alice's attention suddenly turn towards some silly contraption after having just bubbled about the man she called Tarrant? Nevertheless, turning back around in her seat, Alice said decidedly, "It could use the color amber."

**The End**

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**Author's Note (cont.) **I hope everyone enjoyed it! It was a joy to write. You see, I really was at the stop light in my car, studying it - waiting for it to change colors - when it hit me that the three colors used by traffic signals today (Green, Amber and Red) are like the Hatter's eyes! It was a true "You know you're obsessed when..." moment. You can just imagine my further delight when I made it home and immediately went to research traffic lights only to find their history fit perfectly with the idea I had come up with in my car. I discovered that the first one was in London, in 1868 (which according to the timeline in the book adaptation of the film would be perfect), and only had the colors green and red! It was like this beautiful moment where inspiration met reality! So, for those who may have thought the ending random, I was implying that Alice, in a sense, realized many decades prior to its actual addition, that the color Amber should be added to the traffic light in order to symbolize Hatter perfectly (as amber would be the color of Hatter's eyes as I picture him between his usual self and his mad self - thus green, amber and red). That's my story and I'm sticking with it :) Thanks all for reading!


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